I came to Killer Nashville in 2014 expecting to learn what I was doing wrong.

I’d been sending out queries for a horror novel called In the Valley of the Sun, with no hits for months. Lost in a fog of impersonal rejection and desperate for answers, I brought my book and a sample query to the conference.

I’d never attended a writers’ conference before, but my wife and I had heard about Killer Nashville through a friend who’s been coming for years. It seemed like a good fit for a book about a cowboy serial killer whose would-be victim turns him into a vampire.

I came with the intention of meeting an agent recommended to me by a conference organizer who had liked my manuscript, which I’d submitted for the Claymore, but that agent, in a surprise turn of events, had to cancel her attendance at the last minute.

So, instead, I met with Elizabeth Copps from the Maria Carvainis Agency, who was gracious enough to work me into her schedule. I think I led with a question about what the heck I was doing wrong in my query letter, seeing how the rejections kept coming. I’d become convinced that the letter itself was the culprit, that I wasn’t selling the book correctly. Elizabeth smiled, amused, and said: “That’s funny. Because I wrote here: ‘Perfectly formatted query letter.’”

At which point, I thought: Okay. Over the next twenty minutes, you should talk very little and listen very carefully.

In a nutshell, I heard this: my work was the kind of writing Elizabeth liked. It wasn’t ready for acceptance, and I wasn’t quite ready for representation, but she did request a full manuscript, and six months later, after taking her excellent advice and revising the book to her liking, she took me on as a client.

That sounds too simple to be true, and it’s definitely an oversimplification of how much hard work and dedication went into getting that manuscript into shape, but sometimes years of pain and hope and effort comes down to twenty minutes in the right conference room with the right person.

And that’s key, friends: it’s all about finding the right fit.

Almost a year to the day after I officially signed with Elizabeth and Maria Carvainis, in April 2016, In the Valley of the Sun found a home with Skyhorse Publishing. It’s out in hardback in the summer of 2017. There’s a lot of great people who’ve helped make that happen, and the folks at Killer Nashville are among them.

Find us on:

Search Killer Nashville

Jessie Bishop Powell

"To me, writing success means recognition by a traditional press in the form of a contract to publish a physical book with real pages and an authentic cover. Killer Nashville, Five Star Publishing, and Deni Dietz made all of those things possible for me." - Jessie Bishop Powell, The Marriage at the Rue Morgue

2014-09-17T12:39:40+00:00

"To me, writing success means recognition by a traditional press in the form of a contract to publish a physical book with real pages and an authentic cover. Killer Nashville, Five Star Publishing, and Deni Dietz made all of those things possible for me." - Jessie Bishop Powell, The Marriage at the Rue Morgue

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/jessie-bishop-powell/

David Burnsworth

"Whether you are only thinking about writing, in the middle of eighty-thousand words, or feel you’re ready for publication, Killer Nashville is the event for you.” - David Burnsworth, Southern Heat

2014-09-17T12:40:56+00:00

"Whether you are only thinking about writing, in the middle of eighty-thousand words, or feel you’re ready for publication, Killer Nashville is the event for you.” - David Burnsworth, Southern Heat

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/david-burnsworth/

Rosalyn Rikel

"I decided to pitch [my manuscript] at the Killer Nashville conference in 2011. Deni Deitz from Five Star Publishing was the person who ‘caught my pitch,’ challenged me to let her see the full manuscript, and later decided to publish Millicent’s Tower. Thanks to Deni and Five Star, I am now taking pleasure in sharing my book and my story — plus the excitement of writing another one! Stay tuned!!!” - Rosalyn Rikel, Millicent’s Tower

2014-09-17T12:44:54+00:00

"I decided to pitch [my manuscript] at the Killer Nashville conference in 2011. Deni Deitz from Five Star Publishing was the person who ‘caught my pitch,’ challenged me to let her see the full manuscript, and later decided to publish Millicent’s Tower. Thanks to Deni and Five Star, I am now taking pleasure in sharing my book and my story — plus the excitement of writing another one! Stay tuned!!!” - Rosalyn Rikel, Millicent’s Tower

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/rosalyn-rikel/

Mark Troy

“Persistence pays off. So does the feedback from the Claymore judges, the agents and editors at Killer Nashville, and the contacts with the other writers. I was delighted whenThe Law of the Splintered Paddle was named the second runner up and even more delighted when, after another revision, Five Star Mysteries offered to publish it." - Mark Troy, The Splintered Paddle

2014-09-17T12:46:40+00:00

“Persistence pays off. So does the feedback from the Claymore judges, the agents and editors at Killer Nashville, and the contacts with the other writers. I was delighted whenThe Law of the Splintered Paddle was named the second runner up and even more delighted when, after another revision, Five Star Mysteries offered to publish it." - Mark Troy, The Splintered Paddle

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/mark-troy/

Judy Dailey

“Killer Nashville was a wonderful experience. Because of Killer Nashville, I now have a contract with Five Star Publishing for my cozy, Animal, Vegetable, Murder. I couldn’t be happier.” - Judy Dailey, Animal, Vegetable, Murder

2014-09-17T12:47:54+00:00

“Killer Nashville was a wonderful experience. Because of Killer Nashville, I now have a contract with Five Star Publishing for my cozy, Animal, Vegetable, Murder. I couldn’t be happier.” - Judy Dailey, Animal, Vegetable, Murder

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/judy-dailey/

Steven Cooper

"Killer Nashville provides authors wonderful opportunities to advance up the literary ladder. I am flattered by the recognition and grateful to Killer Nashville for giving my work a forum." - Steven Cooper, Desert Remains

2014-09-17T12:50:21+00:00

"Killer Nashville provides authors wonderful opportunities to advance up the literary ladder. I am flattered by the recognition and grateful to Killer Nashville for giving my work a forum." - Steven Cooper, Desert Remains

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/steven-cooper/

Ross Cavins

"Killer Nashville is one of the best writing conferences in the nation, and to be a finalist in its companion award competition is of the highest honor." - Ross Cavins, Barry Versus the Apocalypse

2014-09-17T12:53:03+00:00

"Killer Nashville is one of the best writing conferences in the nation, and to be a finalist in its companion award competition is of the highest honor." - Ross Cavins, Barry Versus the Apocalypse

https://killernashville.com/testimonials/ross-cavins/

Publisher’s Weekly

Publishers Weekly has named Killer Nashville and its founder Clay Stafford as playing "an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers" throughout "the nation's book culture." (PW 6/10/13)

2014-09-17T12:38:03+00:00

Publishers Weekly has named Killer Nashville and its founder Clay Stafford as playing "an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers" throughout "the nation's book culture." (PW 6/10/13)